Over the latest series, we've heard from numerous viewers who've had issues with Britain's number one new-build house insurer, NHBC.
For many, the NHBC Buildmark Cover gives piece of mind, but for these three viewers, it's done little more than show a side of NHBC that's extremely nifty in avoiding payouts...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'NHBC' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Yvonne Cameron and her husband John bought their new-build home in 2006, but three years later, they noticed water leaking into their master bedroom from the roof. When the NHBC came out to view the roof, they admitted there was a problem but refused her claim as it would cost less to fix than their minimum claims value of £1237. The problem for Yvonne was that all the quotes she could get were way above the NHBC's quote and their minimum claim value. In her opinion, the NHBC were using their minimum claim value to avoid responsibility.
"Well, I didn't believe the quote to be accurate so I just went out and got some other quotations from other builders and I got six quotations in total. They were all ranging from £1300 to £1500.
"I was totally furious the response we got from the NHBC - really, really angry. The NHBC, in my opinion, are hiding behind the minimum claim value."
In the end, Yvonne took the house builder to the small claims court and they fixed the roof out of goodwill, but she's not the only one who says she feels short changed by the NHBC.
When Jane Horrocks moved into her new-build home, she noticed the stairs were creaking but dismissed it as simply part of her new house's charm. But as the stairs began to rapidly deteriorate, she realised she was facing a serious problem.
"The stairs aren't just creaking anymore - they're actually coming apart. They're more like standing on a trampoline as you're going up the stairs."
Toward the end of 2009, the NHBC came out to examine the staircase, but said the problem was probably caused by the carpet fitters nailing carpet grip too forcibly to the stairs. According to the NHBC, it was not a defect in the stairs' construction.
For the NHBC, that was case closed, the problem hadn't been caused in the house's construction and Jane would have to get her staircase repaired herself.
"They actually don't want to do anything about this. They actually want to leave me with stairs that are collapsing and I just thought that was ridiculous. I was absolutely fuming, I was so annoyed."
Hearing Jane's story, Watchdog sent expert Barry Cross to cast his eye over the faulty stairs and his conclusion was emphatic.
"The NHBC have said the cause of the problem is due to carpet grippers. I can't believe they have said that - it is so untrue and it is quite clear to me the actual structural composition has failed."
So far, we've heard the excuse that it's 'under the minimum claims value' or not caused by faulty construction, but how about the simple excuse that it's somebody else's problem.
Andrew Gromadzki bought his dream house off-plan; the issue for him was that it kept flooding... three times, in fact, since he moved in.
"The house flooded in August 2004. There's 40 acres of field that drains straight into our sitting room. This muddy brown water came tumbling down - it filled the garden, it filled the patio and it filled the house. The fire brigade came to help but even with their pumps and other neighbours helping with buckets and saucepans, they just weren't able to stem the tide."
After the house flooded again in 2007, Andrew suspected something was seriously wrong with the house's build and contacted the NHBC.
"I immediately started to think - what do I have to do to stop it [the flooding] happening again? The NHBC came, had a look and said, in effect, they couldn't see a problem. I found it absolutely incredible, unbelievable."
Andrew has followed up the NHBC's investigation by commissioning his own report and getting the local council involved, they both expressed concern about the standard of the property - that it was built too low and had serious issues with its drainage.
However, the NHBC wouldn't change their decision and in September, Andrew had to rip down part of his house.
NHBC statement for Watchdog:
NHBC's purpose is to raise house-building standards and provide consumer protection for new home buyers. Our warranty currently covers 1.6 million homes in the UK and we resolve claims from around 15,000 new homeowners each year on homes up to 10 years old. We also help to resolve around 5,000 disputes each year between homeowners and their builder.
For homes up to two years old, the NHBC 10-year Buildmark cover requires the builder puts right any defect reported to them at no cost to the homeowner.
After the first two years, NHBC provides direct insurance for a further 8 years. This part of the cover insures against damage which has resulted from construction defects in the structure of the home. It also covers additional non-structural elements such as double glazing and roof coverings, which normally wouldn't require maintenance during the first 10 years. Further details of the Buildmark cover can be found at here.
NHBC is committed to providing a high level of service to all homeowners covered by our Buildmark cover, and external research consistently shows that the vast majority of homeowners rate our customer service as excellent or very good. Regrettably, there are occasions where we fall below the level of service we expect and homeowners deserve. These are isolated cases, but nevertheless we understand how distressing and inconvenient it can be when things go wrong. With consumer protection at the heart of what we do, we work extremely hard to ensure that homeowners are happy with the way their claims are handled and we sincerely apologise to homeowners whose experience of our service has not been up to our usual high standards.
Mr Gromadzki
We consider that the problems experienced by Mr Gromadzki were caused by flooding in extreme weather conditions in July 2007. Any issues associated with flood protection, water table levels and river systems fall outside our remit and the Building Regulations. Flood protection is a planning consideration and is normally addressed under the planning process.
In Mr Gromadzki's case, our role as the warranty provider was to assess whether his home was performing as required by NHBC Technical Standards, which incorporate the Building Regulations. Our investigator assessed that this was the case.
Although Watchdog cites flooding at the property on previous occasions, the first instance was during construction before any drainage had been installed, and following subsequent flooding in 2004 additional extensive drainage works was carried out by the builder.
Mrs Horrocks
Our Claims investigators make judgements on whether a claim is valid based on their experience and their knowledge of construction, our Technical Standards and our Buildmark policy.
In this case, our investigator concluded that there was no evidence of a defect. However, given Mrs Horrocks' continuing anxiety, we recognise that we should have been more understanding of her concerns and undertaken a further investigation to address them. We sincerely apologise for this and are now making arrangements directly with Mrs Horrocks to carry out a further investigation of her stairs.
We have now re-visited Mrs Horrocks home and opened up her staircase and have found a fault in its construction. We have taken immediate steps to secure them. We have sincerely apologised to Mrs Horrocks for not agreeing to re-visit earlier and will carry out a full repair in the next few days.
Update
We urge the homeowners on the development to contact us if they have experienced similar problems to those encountered by Mrs Horrocks.
Mr and Mrs Cameron
Finally, in the case of Mr and Mrs Cameron's property, we are glad that the roof has been fixed and the situation resolved. We do have a minimum claim value, which is similar to the excess that viewers will be familiar with from household and motor insurance policies. The difference with our minimum claim value is that we will cover the whole cost of any repairs that come in above this level, whereas other insurers will only pay the difference between the excess and the claim value. As with any insurance policy there are exclusions, financial limits, terms and conditions.
When calculating the cost of repairs we follow an agreed formula, using Hutchins price guide, a pricing mechanism widely recognised in the construction industry. We use reputable and vetted remedial works contractors to ensure work is undertaken in a timely fashion and to a high standard. We therefore stand by our quoted price as a fair and accurate assessment of the required work.
We cannot comment as to why the other quotes received by the Cameron's were so much higher and have ourselves only been provided with a copy of one quote.
NHBC Update...
For many, the NHBC Buildmark Cover gives piece of mind, but for these three viewers, it's done little more than show a side of NHBC that's extremely nifty in avoiding payouts...
(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'NHBC' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).
Yvonne Cameron and her husband John bought their new-build home in 2006, but three years later, they noticed water leaking into their master bedroom from the roof. When the NHBC came out to view the roof, they admitted there was a problem but refused her claim as it would cost less to fix than their minimum claims value of £1237. The problem for Yvonne was that all the quotes she could get were way above the NHBC's quote and their minimum claim value. In her opinion, the NHBC were using their minimum claim value to avoid responsibility.
"Well, I didn't believe the quote to be accurate so I just went out and got some other quotations from other builders and I got six quotations in total. They were all ranging from £1300 to £1500.
"I was totally furious the response we got from the NHBC - really, really angry. The NHBC, in my opinion, are hiding behind the minimum claim value."
In the end, Yvonne took the house builder to the small claims court and they fixed the roof out of goodwill, but she's not the only one who says she feels short changed by the NHBC.
When Jane Horrocks moved into her new-build home, she noticed the stairs were creaking but dismissed it as simply part of her new house's charm. But as the stairs began to rapidly deteriorate, she realised she was facing a serious problem.
"The stairs aren't just creaking anymore - they're actually coming apart. They're more like standing on a trampoline as you're going up the stairs."
Toward the end of 2009, the NHBC came out to examine the staircase, but said the problem was probably caused by the carpet fitters nailing carpet grip too forcibly to the stairs. According to the NHBC, it was not a defect in the stairs' construction.
For the NHBC, that was case closed, the problem hadn't been caused in the house's construction and Jane would have to get her staircase repaired herself.
"They actually don't want to do anything about this. They actually want to leave me with stairs that are collapsing and I just thought that was ridiculous. I was absolutely fuming, I was so annoyed."
Hearing Jane's story, Watchdog sent expert Barry Cross to cast his eye over the faulty stairs and his conclusion was emphatic.
"The NHBC have said the cause of the problem is due to carpet grippers. I can't believe they have said that - it is so untrue and it is quite clear to me the actual structural composition has failed."
So far, we've heard the excuse that it's 'under the minimum claims value' or not caused by faulty construction, but how about the simple excuse that it's somebody else's problem.
Andrew Gromadzki bought his dream house off-plan; the issue for him was that it kept flooding... three times, in fact, since he moved in.
"The house flooded in August 2004. There's 40 acres of field that drains straight into our sitting room. This muddy brown water came tumbling down - it filled the garden, it filled the patio and it filled the house. The fire brigade came to help but even with their pumps and other neighbours helping with buckets and saucepans, they just weren't able to stem the tide."
After the house flooded again in 2007, Andrew suspected something was seriously wrong with the house's build and contacted the NHBC.
"I immediately started to think - what do I have to do to stop it [the flooding] happening again? The NHBC came, had a look and said, in effect, they couldn't see a problem. I found it absolutely incredible, unbelievable."
Andrew has followed up the NHBC's investigation by commissioning his own report and getting the local council involved, they both expressed concern about the standard of the property - that it was built too low and had serious issues with its drainage.
However, the NHBC wouldn't change their decision and in September, Andrew had to rip down part of his house.
NHBC statement for Watchdog:
NHBC's purpose is to raise house-building standards and provide consumer protection for new home buyers. Our warranty currently covers 1.6 million homes in the UK and we resolve claims from around 15,000 new homeowners each year on homes up to 10 years old. We also help to resolve around 5,000 disputes each year between homeowners and their builder.
For homes up to two years old, the NHBC 10-year Buildmark cover requires the builder puts right any defect reported to them at no cost to the homeowner.
After the first two years, NHBC provides direct insurance for a further 8 years. This part of the cover insures against damage which has resulted from construction defects in the structure of the home. It also covers additional non-structural elements such as double glazing and roof coverings, which normally wouldn't require maintenance during the first 10 years. Further details of the Buildmark cover can be found at here.
NHBC is committed to providing a high level of service to all homeowners covered by our Buildmark cover, and external research consistently shows that the vast majority of homeowners rate our customer service as excellent or very good. Regrettably, there are occasions where we fall below the level of service we expect and homeowners deserve. These are isolated cases, but nevertheless we understand how distressing and inconvenient it can be when things go wrong. With consumer protection at the heart of what we do, we work extremely hard to ensure that homeowners are happy with the way their claims are handled and we sincerely apologise to homeowners whose experience of our service has not been up to our usual high standards.
Mr Gromadzki
We consider that the problems experienced by Mr Gromadzki were caused by flooding in extreme weather conditions in July 2007. Any issues associated with flood protection, water table levels and river systems fall outside our remit and the Building Regulations. Flood protection is a planning consideration and is normally addressed under the planning process.
In Mr Gromadzki's case, our role as the warranty provider was to assess whether his home was performing as required by NHBC Technical Standards, which incorporate the Building Regulations. Our investigator assessed that this was the case.
Although Watchdog cites flooding at the property on previous occasions, the first instance was during construction before any drainage had been installed, and following subsequent flooding in 2004 additional extensive drainage works was carried out by the builder.
Mrs Horrocks
Our Claims investigators make judgements on whether a claim is valid based on their experience and their knowledge of construction, our Technical Standards and our Buildmark policy.
In this case, our investigator concluded that there was no evidence of a defect. However, given Mrs Horrocks' continuing anxiety, we recognise that we should have been more understanding of her concerns and undertaken a further investigation to address them. We sincerely apologise for this and are now making arrangements directly with Mrs Horrocks to carry out a further investigation of her stairs.
We have now re-visited Mrs Horrocks home and opened up her staircase and have found a fault in its construction. We have taken immediate steps to secure them. We have sincerely apologised to Mrs Horrocks for not agreeing to re-visit earlier and will carry out a full repair in the next few days.
Update
We urge the homeowners on the development to contact us if they have experienced similar problems to those encountered by Mrs Horrocks.
Mr and Mrs Cameron
Finally, in the case of Mr and Mrs Cameron's property, we are glad that the roof has been fixed and the situation resolved. We do have a minimum claim value, which is similar to the excess that viewers will be familiar with from household and motor insurance policies. The difference with our minimum claim value is that we will cover the whole cost of any repairs that come in above this level, whereas other insurers will only pay the difference between the excess and the claim value. As with any insurance policy there are exclusions, financial limits, terms and conditions.
When calculating the cost of repairs we follow an agreed formula, using Hutchins price guide, a pricing mechanism widely recognised in the construction industry. We use reputable and vetted remedial works contractors to ensure work is undertaken in a timely fashion and to a high standard. We therefore stand by our quoted price as a fair and accurate assessment of the required work.
We cannot comment as to why the other quotes received by the Cameron's were so much higher and have ourselves only been provided with a copy of one quote.
NHBC Update...